The north London club have a tough run-in of fixtures, but Villas-Boas is hopeful Defoe will return in time for the clash with defending champions Manchester City on April 21.

The Spurs boss said: 'Jermain has a
muscle injury and that’s probably going to take him out for the next two
games and maybe Basle away.

Coming to Spurs' Ade: The Togolese striker is one option to lead the line

'If he can’t make Basle away he should be fit for the week that we prepare to play Manchester City. It’s a big blow. It’s the same muscle he had a small tear in last month, but it’s the other side (pelvic injury).

'It’s a big miss for us because he’s a player who represents a lot for us and he’s showed tremendous quality this season.

'You’ve seen us play with (Clint) Dempsey and (Gareth) Bale up front. We have been in periods where are strikers have been injured and we’ve coped with it – sometimes less successfully, sometimes more so.

'We’ll definitely have him back for the Man City game, so the negative of having an injury is not that bad.

'We’ll have the player back for the decisive moments of the season.

'He probably did it through a shooting exercise we set out prior to playing Swansea.’

Hair we go: Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Tottenham face FC Basle in the Europa League on Thursday night

Spurs' spirit will see us bid for glory on two fronts until the end of the season, says Bale

By
Charlie Skillen

PUBLISHED:

19:53 GMT, 1 April 2013

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UPDATED:

23:10 GMT, 1 April 2013

Gareth Bale has said Tottenham can keep fighting on two fronts until the end of the season, claiming Champions League football for next season and challenging for the Europa League.

Spurs sit in third in the Premier League, five points ahead of north London rivals Arsenal in fifth, but have played a game more than the Gunners.

They also host Basel in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, but talisman Bale believes the togetherness in the squad will see them through.

Ready to go: Gareth Bale said Tottenham can use their team spirit to compete on two fronts

'We are a very close group as a team. At some places there's little groups here and little groups there but we have got a great team spirit and we want to take that into the rest of the season,' Bale told Eurosport.

'The main thing for us is that we don’t get carried away. We're comfortably able to finish fourth in the league and competing for third – we've got to take it game by game.

'We can push on in the Europa League as well against Basle. Our away form has been very good – we showed that against Lyon. We want to do as well as we can in both competitions.'

Bale's stunning strike against Swansea in Spurs' 2-1 win at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday was his 22nd for Spurs in all competitions this season, prompting some to brand him as one of the best in the world.

Flying high: Bale scored his 22nd goal of the season for Spurs against Swansea on Saturday

But for the man himself, two giants of the Spanish League are still the ones to beat.

'Ronaldo and Messi have set the standard as the best players in the world, and everyone wants to play like them' said Bale.

Spurs' tough schedule will help their Champions League bid, says Friedel

By
Laura Williamson

PUBLISHED:

21:45 GMT, 31 March 2013

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UPDATED:

00:57 GMT, 1 April 2013

Brad Friedel believes Tottenham’s tough April schedule will benefit their bid to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Spurs moved into third place with their 2-1 win at Swansea on Saturday but must play Everton, Chelsea and Manchester City in the next three weeks, as well as a two-leg Europa League quarter-final against FC Basel.

Friedel, though, believes his side rise to the occasion against teams in the top half of the table. Home draws against the likes of West Bromwich Albion, Norwich and Stoke, as well as defeats by Wigan and Fulham, have, after all, stunted Tottenham’s progress this season.

Scroll down to watch the highlights

Tough schedule: Brad Friedel believes Tottenham's players will rise to the challenge in the run in

The goalkeeper said: ‘We have some tough Premier League games coming up and I think that is much better for us. The bigger the game, the more the players will step up to the plate.

‘It might be nervy for the people who think about it and watch it but in-house we know what we want to do. There are no nerves hanging around the training ground.’

On fire: Gareth Bale (right) scores with a stunning strike against Swansea

This was a vital win for Andre Villas-Boas’ side although it took a last-minute tackle from Gareth Bale to prevent Nathan Dyer scoring an equaliser after Michu led a spirited Swansea fight-back in the second half. A loss — or even a draw after establishing a 2-0 lead with two stunning goals from Jan Vertonghen and Bale inside 21 minutes — and Friedel admitted Tottenham’s Champions League hopes could have been over.

The goalkeeper, 41, started his first Premier League game since November to allow Hugo Lloris to protect a slight knee injury he sustained on international duty with France. Friedel will play again against Basel on Thursday, but Lloris is expected to resume training on Monday.

Friedel said: ‘If we had given away a two-goal lead, psychologically it would have hurt. There would have been no denying that. It was very important that we won today (Saturday).

Vital: The win over Swansea was an important three points for Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas

‘It was a massive three points. The week we had before the international break where we had the three losses (against Liverpool, Inter Milan and Fulham) meant this was a huge, huge win for us. To top it off Chelsea lost which makes it an even better weekend.’

Bale added: ‘It was important for us to get a win because it was important to stop the rot and try and kick on and make our season as good as possible. It was a great result for us today so hopefully we can keep this run going now. We’re still in the running for our objectives and hopefully we can fulfil them.’

Tottenham's ref is getting some stick! Angry Croatian fans send match official a white cane after he admits high-profile mistake… and he's in charge for Spurs match at Inter

By
John Drayton

PUBLISHED:

15:15 GMT, 13 March 2013

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UPDATED:

17:53 GMT, 13 March 2013

The referee of Thursday's Europa League match between Tottenham and Inter Milan has been sent a blind man's white stick by fans of Croatian side Hajduk Split after they were enraged by a contentious decision.

Ivan Bebek's call in a recent game between Split and Dinamo Zagreb frustrated supporters so much they sent a package to the Croatian Football Federation for the ref which included the white stick, a jersey and a Dinamo scarf.

The fans' club issued a statement saying: 'We apologise to blind people, we do not want to offend anyone, but just want to help the referee Ivan Bebek ahead of the game.'

Provocative: But the fan club insisted they did not wish to offend anyone

Bebek admitted after the game on his Facebook profile that in hindsight he failed to call a clear penalty in favour of Hajduk Split.

The frustrated Split fans have now also forwarded on pictures of the package to Tottenham as a warning to them about the ref ahead of their crunch Europa League game.

Trusted: Ivan Bebek will overlook Spurs v Inter

Comfortable lead: Tottenham are 3-0 up to the third leg, in which Jan Vertonghen headed their third goal

Controversial Given the difficulty that can be involved in refereeing Gareth Bale, Ivan Bebek may be relieved he is suspended

From the spot: Steven Gerrard's penalty gave Liverpool victory over Tottenham on Sunday

The Manchester United defender tweeted to his four million followers that Bale needs to keep scoring at this rate for three or four years for there even to be a debate.

He wrote: ‘People mentioning Bale in the same breath as @Cristiano + Messi really don’t know football! Bale been 1 of best 2 in PL this year but….

'Don't know football!' Rio Ferdinand has slammed those comparing Gareth Bale (below) to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, saying the last two are on a different planet

Best in the world Gareth Bale's spectacular strike for Spurs against West Ham on Monday led to comparisons with the greatest players in the world

‘He is not on CR7 + Messi’s level yet…he carries on doing what he is doing for 2/3yrs then there can be a debate.

‘Bale showed me a clean pair of heals once this year so I’m in good position to judge! CR7 + Messi have been on another planet for 4-5yrs #consistent #KeepItClean’

Bale has already scored 15 goals in the Premier League this season — earning Tottenham an astonishing 15 points on his own.

Number one: Cristiano Ronaldo reminded us of his quality by scoring two goals for Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-final with Barcelona last night

Hot property: Lionel Messi has scored 49 goals for Barcelona already this season

Without him Spurs would be way off their quest for fourth place, languishing down in ninth position in the table. Statistics show manager Andre Villas-Boas has been given Bale free rein to roam the park and be selfish — he is making fewer passes and creating fewer goals than last season but scoring far more.

When Cristiano Ronaldo was Bale’s age at 23, he won the Ballon d’Or after scoring scored 31 goals for Manchester United at a rate of one goal every 89 minutes, with a shooting accuracy of 59 per cent.

So far this season Bale has scored 15 goals at a rate of one goal every 135 minutes, with a shooting accuracy of 57 per cent.